Friday, March 16, 2012

By now you all know how I feel about the LGBT Community and my passion for ensuring that they are treated equally on all levels. After several heated arguments with friends and family regarding this case, I am going to be honest with myself and all of you and say that I am a bit blinded by my passion, with regards to this case. The legal term if I were a judge would be to "recuse myself," so that is what I am doing. You can probably already guess what my thoughts and opinions are regarding this case and this verdict, so I can be quiet and keep them to myself.

The jury split its verdict against a former Rutgers University student accused
of hate crimes for using a webcam to spy on his roommate's tryst with another
man days before the roommate committed suicide.

Twenty-year-old Dharun Ravi, who faced 15 criminal charges, shook his head
slightly after the verdicts were read. The jury convicted Dharun Ravi on
invasion of privacy charges, but not guilty of some of the hate crimes.

He could get years in prison - and could be deported to his native India,
even though he has lived legally in the U.S. since he was a little boy - for his
part in an act that cast a spotlight on teen suicide and anti-gay bullying and
illustrated the Internet's potential for tormenting others.

Prosecutors said that Ravi set up a webcam in his dorm room in September 2010
and captured his roommate, Tyler Clementi, kissing another man, then tweeted
about it and excitedly tried to catch Clementi in the act again two days later.
About a half-dozen students were believed to have seen the live video of the
kissing.

Within days, Clementi realized he had been watched and leaped from the George
Washington Bridge after posting one last status update on Facebook: "Jumping off
the gw bridge, sorry." Ravi's lawyer argued that the college freshman was not motivated by any
malice toward gays - a necessary element to prove a hate crime - and that his
actions were just those of an immature "kid."

The defense also contended Ravi initially set up the camera because he was
afraid Clementi's older, "sketchy"-looking visitor might steal his belongings.

Ravi was not charged with causing Clementi's death, and the suicide remained
largely in the background at the trial, though some witnesses mentioned it and
the jury was told Clementi had taken his life. Prosecutors were not allowed to
argue directly that the spying led to his death; defense lawyers were barred
from saying there were other reasons he killed himself.

Clementi's death was one in a string of suicides by young gays around the
country in September 2010. President Barack Obama commented on it, as did talk
show host Ellen DeGeneres.

New Jersey lawmakers hastened passage of an anti-bullying law because of the
case, and Rutgers changed its housing policies to allow opposite-sex roommates
in an effort to make gay, bisexual and transgender students feel more
comfortable.

Testimony came from about 30 witnesses over 12 days, including the man seen
kissing Clementi. The 32-year-old man was identified in court only by the
initials M.B. Ravi himself did not testify, though the jury watched a video of
his interrogation by police.

Ravi and Clementi, both 18-year-old freshmen from comfortable New Jersey
suburbs, had been randomly assigned to room together at Rutgers, and Clementi
had arrived at college just a few days after coming out to his parents as gay.

A string of students testified they never heard Ravi say anything bad about
gays in general or Clementi in particular. But students did say Ravi expressed
some concern about sharing a room with a gay man.

On Sept. 19, according to testimony, Clementi asked Ravi to leave their room
so that he could have a guest. Later, Ravi posted on Twitter: "Roommate asked
for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I
saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

Ravi told police that he viewed only seconds of the encounter via computer.

His friend Molly Wei testified that she and a few other students also watched
the live stream of the men kissing. (Wei was initially charged in the case but
was later accepted into a pretrial program that will allow her to keep her
record clean.)

Two nights later, Clementi asked for the room alone again. This time, Ravi
tweeted: "I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes,
it's happening again." Ravi also texted a friend about a planned "viewing party"
and, two students said, went to friends' dorm rooms to show them how to access
the feed.

However, there was no evidence the webcam was turned on that night. Ravi told
police he had put his computer to sleep. Prosecutors argued Clementi himself
unplugged the computer.

According to testimony, Clementi submitted a room-change request form and
talked to a resident assistant about what happened. He also used his laptop to
view Ravi's Twitter site 38 times in the last two days of his life. He killed
himself on Sept. 22.

By now you all know how I feel about the LGBT Community and my passion for ensuring that they are treated equally on all levels. After several heated arguments with friends and family regarding this case, I am going to be honest with myself and all of you and say that I am a bit blinded by my passion, with regards to this case. The legal term if I were a judge would be to "recuse myself," so that is what I am doing. You can probably already guess what my thoughts and opinions are regarding this case and this verdict, so I can be quiet and keep them to myself.

The jury split its verdict against a former Rutgers University student accused
of hate crimes for using a webcam to spy on his roommate's tryst with another
man days before the roommate committed suicide.

Twenty-year-old Dharun Ravi, who faced 15 criminal charges, shook his head
slightly after the verdicts were read. The jury convicted Dharun Ravi on
invasion of privacy charges, but not guilty of some of the hate crimes.

He could get years in prison - and could be deported to his native India,
even though he has lived legally in the U.S. since he was a little boy - for his
part in an act that cast a spotlight on teen suicide and anti-gay bullying and
illustrated the Internet's potential for tormenting others.

Prosecutors said that Ravi set up a webcam in his dorm room in September 2010
and captured his roommate, Tyler Clementi, kissing another man, then tweeted
about it and excitedly tried to catch Clementi in the act again two days later.
About a half-dozen students were believed to have seen the live video of the
kissing.

Within days, Clementi realized he had been watched and leaped from the George
Washington Bridge after posting one last status update on Facebook: "Jumping off
the gw bridge, sorry." Ravi's lawyer argued that the college freshman was not motivated by any
malice toward gays - a necessary element to prove a hate crime - and that his
actions were just those of an immature "kid."

The defense also contended Ravi initially set up the camera because he was
afraid Clementi's older, "sketchy"-looking visitor might steal his belongings.

Ravi was not charged with causing Clementi's death, and the suicide remained
largely in the background at the trial, though some witnesses mentioned it and
the jury was told Clementi had taken his life. Prosecutors were not allowed to
argue directly that the spying led to his death; defense lawyers were barred
from saying there were other reasons he killed himself.

Clementi's death was one in a string of suicides by young gays around the
country in September 2010. President Barack Obama commented on it, as did talk
show host Ellen DeGeneres.

New Jersey lawmakers hastened passage of an anti-bullying law because of the
case, and Rutgers changed its housing policies to allow opposite-sex roommates
in an effort to make gay, bisexual and transgender students feel more
comfortable.

Testimony came from about 30 witnesses over 12 days, including the man seen
kissing Clementi. The 32-year-old man was identified in court only by the
initials M.B. Ravi himself did not testify, though the jury watched a video of
his interrogation by police.

Ravi and Clementi, both 18-year-old freshmen from comfortable New Jersey
suburbs, had been randomly assigned to room together at Rutgers, and Clementi
had arrived at college just a few days after coming out to his parents as gay.

A string of students testified they never heard Ravi say anything bad about
gays in general or Clementi in particular. But students did say Ravi expressed
some concern about sharing a room with a gay man.

On Sept. 19, according to testimony, Clementi asked Ravi to leave their room
so that he could have a guest. Later, Ravi posted on Twitter: "Roommate asked
for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I
saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

Ravi told police that he viewed only seconds of the encounter via computer.

His friend Molly Wei testified that she and a few other students also watched
the live stream of the men kissing. (Wei was initially charged in the case but
was later accepted into a pretrial program that will allow her to keep her
record clean.)

Two nights later, Clementi asked for the room alone again. This time, Ravi
tweeted: "I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes,
it's happening again." Ravi also texted a friend about a planned "viewing party"
and, two students said, went to friends' dorm rooms to show them how to access
the feed.

However, there was no evidence the webcam was turned on that night. Ravi told
police he had put his computer to sleep. Prosecutors argued Clementi himself
unplugged the computer.

According to testimony, Clementi submitted a room-change request form and
talked to a resident assistant about what happened. He also used his laptop to
view Ravi's Twitter site 38 times in the last two days of his life. He killed
himself on Sept. 22.

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